Heroes: Rebirth
by Goda92
Summary: The world is in ruin again. After many years of stuggle and hardship, pain and death; a group of Heroes decide to change the reality hoping for something better to fill it's place. Their hope lies in Zack, a heroes child, and the heroes of the past.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**The Future – Hartsdale, NY - ???**

"Peter! We need to go!" A voice shouted out as the man in the alleyway looked extremely worried: blood flowing down the gash on his face, fires from the destruction behind him, and a baby in his arms. He looked at the area around him and then closed his eyes, with it everything around him froze in time leaving just him and the child that he rocked slightly as they stood still in time. The man looked down at the child and sighed.

Everything stopped around them. The destruction, the chaos, the agony, it all stopped as the two stood in middle of it. Although it was a destroyed world the two were somehow at peace from it, it was the world they had been subjected to for many years. The eternal red skies, the ruined buildings, the fighting wherever you went. The two knew of this world. However just because they felt a sense of peace from it didn't mean that they enjoyed the suffering that good people were feeling, the changes that had occurred in normal individuals that made them criminals.

"I would have liked to have brought you up, made up for my parents mistakes." The man whispered as they stood in the frozen world, "But you need to save the world."He then stopped for a minute and chuckled reminiscently, "You'll go away, and you won't see me like this ever again, not in the same way we see each other right now. But that's alright. You're gonna save the world, and that should mean a lot to you." The man then closed his eyes again and time restarted, though this time the man wasn't there.

**Bennet Household – Odessa, TX – June 8th, 1994**

The man reappeared in the middle of a less apocalyptic place, a totally contrasting place in comparison to the world of the future that they were in before. They had arrived in a little street that was in its own corner of heaven, still in a golden age after many years of depression and war, it was a perfect place to live in, to grow up in. Of cause the man looked out of place, although the wound that he had on his face had now sealed up leaving him with just the marks from the blood his very being was totally out of place. He didn't belong; however there was a chance that his son could.

He rushed towards one of the house doors and as he reached it the door opened revealing another man, this time much cleaner. The man had short brown hair and stood tall, he wore a suit and looked like a regular family man; the perfect man to be the babies father.

"Noah." The man greeted as he rocked his son in his arms. "Thank you for agreeing for this, this is the only way to-"

"Save the World, I know." Noah replied as he stood in the doorway. "But how are we going to do this? Won't you be damaging the future if you leave us like you have?"

"Yes." The man replied, "However I can sort that. I just need to see you and Sandra quickly."

"And Claire," Noah added as he walked backwards allowing the man to step into the house. He did so and the door closed behind them leaving them in the hallway of a mansion to what the baby had been subjected to for his life so far. "She's seen you. You won't want to leave a trace."

"Not if I want to save my child," The man chuckled again, remembering when he was talked to like that by this man. It was a different situation now though; the shoe had skipped to the other foot. "But Noah, I need to tell you..." The man froze for a second as he looked at the baby in his arms. Noah smiled slightly as he looked at the man's struggling face, the face of a man about to lose his child. He then shook his head and looked Noah in the eyes.

"His name is Zack, and from now on he is going to be your child, Zack Bennet. The son of Noah and Sandra, and the brother of Claire and Lyle. I want you to raise him like he was your own son, your own child." The man spoke as Noah chuckled slightly.

"I already have a bit of experience with that," Noah replied in a low tone, it wouldn't matter what he said now though. Everything would change in a few minutes.

"I want you to be there for him." He continued, "Teach him how to ride a bike, get him through his first girlfriend, and see him off to college. Whatever he needs you there for, you be there. However most of all, I need you to be there for him when his ability manifests. It's gonna be a terrifying time for him and he is going to need someone to help him through that. Can you do that Noah?"

"Yes." Noah responded seriously. The man then smiled and pushed the baby towards Noah who slowly, but naturally, took the boy into his arms and started to cradle him. The man then looked around him and noticed the items in the house: the cot, the balloons congratulating them on the birth of their new boy, and the fresh stock of baby foods and formulas.

"Are you ready?" The man asked as he started to walk away from the two. Noah nodded and smiled. The man then closed his eyes and suddenly the world around him started to change as he invaded the minds of all of the people in the nearby radius, changing what they knew. Then, all of a sudden, he disappeared again leaving Noah standing in the hallway with his son, Zack Bennet.

Noah smiled as he looked at. He then walked him over to the cot and lay him down in it. He quickly fell to sleep in his new home.


	2. Chapter 1, Genesis

**Chapter 1 – Genesis**

_The Start of a Journey. Zack is just another normal kid however, in rare circumstances, ordinary people can be made extraordinary over night. Over darkness where there is no light._

**Bennet Household - Odessa, TX – October 1****st**** 2006**

"Zack, have you finished cleaning that room yet!" Sandra shouted up the stairs as the twelve year old boy quickly chucked the magazine in his hands under his bed and looked around him at the mess that was still all over his floor. He quickly darted up and pushed the rubbish around his room so that he had a large pile of it in one place; he then stood back and looked at the pile. It was around his height and made from magazines, old school papers, packets of crisps; generally everything you'd expect in a twelve year old boy's room. However he need to find a way to clear it all away, and quickly, as he could hear his mum's footsteps as she went up the stairs giving him thirty seconds or so.

He quickly grabbed bits of pile and started to chuck them into the closest closet to him, mixing it with his clothes. The closet got messier and messier as the pile became smaller and smaller. He then heard his mum on the landing and looked at the pile, it was still too big. He decided. He would have to make the sacrifice in order to escape his mum's shouting. He closed the cupboard and grabbed a bin bag from the side of the room, and discarded his treasured items into it quickly. It was then that his door slowly opened and he regained his posture and held onto the bin bag as he stood in the now clean door.

His mum entered the room, wearing her usual cardigan and keeping her blonde hair flowing downwards. Zack grinned at her as she looked at the room. "Very nice..." She said as she walked into the room and around Zack, "So, where is the rest of it." Zack jumped out of his skin and knew that he wasn't going to be able to hide it now; he hung his head slightly as he pointed to the cupboard. His mum walked over to it and opened it allowing a stream of rubbish to flow out into the room. She then turned to Zack and looked at him disappointedly.

"Zack, I would have thought you would have recognised that you aren't the first person to do this. Claire tried this, Lyle tried this, and now you; and do you know what?" His mum asked.

"What?" Zack replied, knowing what was coming.

"It didn't work with them either." She replied as she grabbed the bin bag from him. "Now, put the rest of it into a bag in the speed you put them in that one and you'll be done in a minute of so."

"But Mum!" Zack cried out, "I don't know what I want to chuck out!"

"Oh." His mum replied, rolling her eyes. "You don't know do you? Well let me make it easier." She walked over to the cupboard and pushed the rubbish out onto the ground leaving just the clothes in the cupboard again. "Bin all of the things on the ground and you can keep the things I've left in the cupboard." She then laughed as she saw Zack's moody look. She then ruffled his hair as she walked away. "Come on, finish it quickly and you can go out."

Zack quickly awoke to the idea, if he finished then he would be able to go out and see if he could play with his friends. He quickly gathered the rubbish into a bin bag and then looked at his room. To be fair it was a lot cleaner now, he could now see the floor. He turned to his cupboard and closed it again allowing him to see himself in the reflection of the mirror on the front of the cupboard.

He was looking alright today. His blonde hair was messed around revealing some of the black roots to it, but was finally back at ear length. His skin was smooth, his eyebrows black and 'intriguing', and his apple green eyes penetrating. He was wearing the same blue jeans he had put on in the morning (it would be a bit freaky if he wasn't), the same steel blue brand t-shirt, bracelet, necklace, socks. He was how he thought he was, which was helpful.

He then left his room with the bin bag and started to make his way down the stairs. As he did another guy started to run past him up the stairs, almost knocking him off balance. "Watch it Lyle!" Zack shouted up as he continued the run, ignoring him for now. Zack continued to pull the bag out until he got to the door and opened it. He then went onto the yard and put the bag with the other on at the front, ready to be collected. When he had put it down he then dashed back inside to get ready to leave.

He got in and then started to run up to his room to collect his keys. When he got up to his room he pulled his keys up and put them into his pocket, he then looked up at the sky and saw the sun. It was then that he remembered, today was the day of the solar eclipse! He fished into his drawers and pulled out the pair of eclipse glasses that he had bought before. He was so fascinated by it that he had been tracking it for ages trying to get the exact timings.

He put the glasses into his pockets and then ran down the stairs and out of the house shouting, "I'm just gonna go out and see if my friends have anything going on."

**Half an Hour Later – Nearby Park – Odessa, TX**

It was no use, he had tried at all of his friends houses but none of them were able to get out. So now he was just left, in the park, swinging on a swing by himself. He sighed as he thought about it. He wished that he would be playing with his friends, but he knew that there wasn't much he could do about it now. Instead he should look forwards, after all the Eclipse would be happening soon!

Zack was a pretty good student and enjoyed science, so something like an Eclipse fascinated him. It was something that they had learnt about in a lesson, so he understood it and that made it even more interesting. The moon would go into alignment with the sun and block it out for a couple of minutes as the Earth and the Moon continued to orbit around, it was rare but could leave areas of the world in unexpected darkness when it happened. Of cause it was no longer unexpected, as they could tell when an eclipse was going to happen now, but it was still an amazing event.

He wondered about whether he should go back home. Maybe he would be able to watch the Eclipse with mum and dad? But then again, dad may end up busy with work. He was always working a lot, as the 'Paper Business always needed him'. Zack always wandered how much a Paper Company actually needed him but he didn't think too deeply on it, his dad was there when it mattered and that was the important bit.

As he sat wandering he then heard sirens behind him. He turned around and saw fire engines starting to ride into the distance. He was about to start thinking about them when he saw the darkness passing over him, the eclipse was here. He quickly pulled out his glasses and put them on. He then stared up at where the sun should be and then saw it, the solar eclipse.

It was amazing, beautiful; something that was so incredible that Zack felt the knowledge in his head was just not enough. No word he could utter could explain this eclipse properly. "Wow." He whispered quietly as he watched it in the sky. He didn't keep a track of the time. All that he cared about was seeing the movement of the light in the sky, watching it disappear and then reappear.

But it was then that everything changed inside of him.

Why did he have to wear the eclipse glasses? The answer wasn't because they looked really cool (as they really didn't, they were scrappy little pieces of card and Polaroid), but because they blocked out the radiation coming from the sun. When an eclipse happens there is a high concentration of radiation coming from the sun, and that concentration is lethal for the retina in the eye.

But something was happening to Zack, he couldn't feel it, but it was happening.

But why should he care. The eclipse was starting to fade in the sky and the sun was starting to shine down again, leaving him with just the memories of the eclipse. He wanted to go and reach out to it, to keep it there forever, but he knew that was just not possible.

He sighed as he stood up from the swings and started to make his way home.

**A Moment Later - Street – Odessa, TX**

As he walked down the street heading home he continued to think about the eclipse. It would be ages until he saw one again, and that was what annoyed him. He sighed as he continued to walk, but he was no longer concentrating on where he was going. One of the things that he had found was that he now knew where his home was, and so he could just lose concentration for a couple of minutes and then he would find himself at the home. It was simple; however it did have its problems.

"Hey, watch it kid!" A man shouted as Zack felt a slight pain in him arm slide him back into reality. The problem was that if you don't concentrate on where you are walking you often bump into things that aren't usually there, like people. He had now rammed his arm into a random man; who was quite a bit taller then him, had limps like tree trunks and obviously worked out a lot, and was not the happiest person to be rammed into.

"Sorry mister." Zack replied as he then started to walk off. As he did he saw the man frown and then walk off. It relieved Zack that he had; he didn't like the prospect of having to fight against that guy. He continued to walk down the street, this time trying to concentrate on where he was going, when he noticed something else that was out of the ordinary. There was a woman infront of him who was struggling with a man over a bag.

"Help me!" The woman shouted as she saw Zack, "He's trying to take my bag!" The woman was then hit in the face by the man and fell down to the ground letting go of the bag. Zack quickly looked around for anyone else that could help, there was no one. The man smirked and started to run towards Zack, he was aiming to run straight past him with the bag, after all there was no much that Zack could do. The man was taller then him, appeared to be stronger then him, and seemed to be more interested in escaping that Zack would be to stopping him.

The man continued to running, continued to smirk with his evil grin. Zack didn't know what to do; he didn't know what he could do. He closed his eyes as the man got closer and suddenly the image of the man he had barged into before came into his head. At that moment he felt he knew what he needed to do.

He opened his eyes and widened his legs out where he stood, the man got closer and closer and then at the right possible moment he lifted his leg up and kicked the man square in the jaw. His leg forced itself up into the man's face knocking him backwards into the air and making him let go of the bag (which went flying back towards the original owner.)

Zack stood frozen as he looked at the scene: the man on the floor, the woman regaining her bag, and him standing over the man looking victorious. The man then got up and quickly ran away from Zack and the woman; he had obviously shocked him quite a bit. Zack took a couple of deep breaths in as the woman walked towards him, smiling.

"Thank you." She responded to Zack, as he continued to stand frozen, "I don't know where you learnt that move from kid, but thanks."

"Yeah," Zack replied, still a bit frozen, "I don't know either, but it happened somehow." The woman looked at him oddly for a second but then shrugged it off and smiled again.

"Anyway, thanks kid." She concluded as she walked away, down the street and out of Zack's life. Now Zack was left in his semi-frozen world. How did he do that? He had never learnt any martial arts, he hadn't learnt how to kick properly, but somehow he was able to exercise such precision and technique when kicking that man. He remembered the man that he had seen; could he have known martial arts? It was when he thought of him that he felt like he could do it.

Zack decided to stop thinking about it for now. He started to head home quickly, hoping he wouldn't bump into anyone else on the way back.

**Later – Bennet Household – Odessa, TX**

When Zack got back into his House he was welcomed by Mr Muggles, the family dog. He always liked Mr Muggles: he was a friendly dog, a bit small and yappy, but still friendly. He stroked him for a minute as he thought about what had happened. He continued to think the same things, about the man and how he was able to do what he did. The same thoughts continued to revolve around his head as he stood with Mr Muggles.

"Hey Zack." His Mum welcomed as she walked down the stairs and into the hallway. "Dinner in ten, kay?" Zack smiled at her slightly and nodded, she then looked at him closely and walked towards him. "You feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Zack replied, smiling again. "I'm just gonna go to my room. I'll be back for dinner." Zack then started to run up the stairs and left his mum in the hallway.

"Alright." She trailed off suspiciously as Zack closed the door to his room. He walked from the door and dropped himself onto his bed so that he was staring up at the plain white ceiling. He didn't understand any of this, but whatever it was something was happening and he would have to live with it.

"Best not to worry about it..." He thought as he lay on his bed and closed his eyes. He then suddenly saw the man in his head again. He quickly opened his eyes and shook his head. It was then that a strange thought went through his head, it was just like before. He got up off of his bed and slowly moved into the middle of the room. He then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He then lifted his leg and started to kick into the air.

5, 10, 15, 20. He continued to kick without falling to the ground, keeping his balance when he released each kick with a similar strength. Then when he reached 30 he stopped and dropped down to the ground gently. "What the hell." He whispered as he thought about what had happened. He then decided to check something. He turned to the mirror and pulled his T-Shirt sleeve up, he then saw in the mirror that his arms were now covered in muscle, which was something they definitely weren't this morning. Zack wouldn't call himself a slob, but he definitely did not spend all of his time working out.

He then shook his head and suddenly his own image flooded into his head. He then looked at himself in the mirror again and saw that his arms had returned to normal. "Something really odd is happening." Zack thought as he stood in the room. He then heard his mum from downstairs shouting about the 'dinner being ready'. He turned away from the windows and started to move down the stairs.

*

The dinner was quite nice, nothing too interesting but nice homely food. Zack was halfway through eating when his sister, Claire, came through the door and into the House. "And then Carla had the nerve to tell me he's not breed worthy. Like he didn't win five all breed rallies, two regionals. Can you believe it?" His mum conversed with him and Lyle while Mr Muggles sat on her lap. "It's just not true, Mr. Muggles. It's not true. He's a little stud muffin. That's what he is." She was cooing Mr Muggles now; she always seemed to do that. He was her little baby now.

Claire sat down next to him, her long blonde hair flowing down to her shoulders. Zack knew that his sister was attractive, even if he didn't think so himself. His friends would always go on about her and want to see pictures of her and stuff like that; it was a bit strange for him. He sighed and started to play with his food as his mum continued to coddle Mr Muggles.

"He still humps my leg when I watch TV." Lyle reacted. Lyle was always doing stuff like that, and Zack sort of looked up to him for it. Although they were different types of people. While Zack enjoyed to research further into Science and do his work Lyle was always a bit more lax with his work.

"All right. Enough about Mr. Muggles. What did everybody else do today?" Mum asked which made Zack choke slightly on his food. He then stopped and smiled at her slightly, not wanting to answer too much. Claire seemed to have the same thought going on for some reason or another.

"Doug and I saw this Mexican guy. A homeless dude. On the way to school. We thought he was dead, but he wasn't." Lyle replied. Lyle always did get up to the weirdest adventures. "I thought Dad was coming home today."

"Well, I was gonna surprise you. He finished up early. He's coming up tonight. Isn't that great?" Mum commented, this made Zack smile a bit more. He liked his Dad, as parents could be he was pretty cool.

"Just in time to read my report card." Lyle muttered.

"So what about you, Claire? Do anything special today?" Mum asked again, luckily skipping over Zack. Claire sighed slightly as she readied to reply.

"I walked through fire and I didn't get burned." Claire replied quietly. Everyone then looked at Claire for a minute, mostly thinking 'what was she on about'.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lyle spoke his thoughts, another thing that he did that Zack didn't. If Lyle thought of anything at all then it would often topple out of his mouth in the next couple of seconds. "God, you're so crazy sometimes."

"Lyle." Mum told Lyle off as she turned back to Claire, "I think I know exactly what you mean." Zack was intrigued to know; maybe it would top his own day. "Oh, here I am talking dogs again, and you go and say something really profound. We come up against all kinds of fires in our lives. And when we test ourselves and face our fears, we usually don't get burned."

"Metaphors, lovely." Zack thought mockingly. He was a bit disappointed that she wasn't controlling the fire like the X-Men or something like that.

"You are very wise, sweetheart. Whatever it is you did, I'm proud of you." Mum continued as she then turned off to coddle Mr Muggles some more. "And so is Mr Muggles. He just so proud of Claire. Aren't we? We're proud of Claire. Yes, we're so proud of Claire, aren't we? She's the best."

The dinner continued like that. Luckily the Claire thing managed to lift the spotlight off anything else (apart from Mr Muggles) which meant that he managed to escape without saying what he did today. He also escaped for the rest of the evening. He managed to close himself away from people in his room and escape from most of the drama, instead wrapping himself in his homework.

However later in the evening, he heard a knocking at his door. "Come in." He replied as he sat up on his bed, the door then opened and his dad stepped into the room, his horn rimmed glasses looking down on him. Zack smiled as he walked into the room.

"Hiya kid, how are you doing?" His dad asked as he leant against the wall.

"Alright thanks Dad. How was your trip?" Zack replied.

"It was...eventful." His dad replied, he always had that sort of a reply to that question which was sometimes frustrating. "Anyway, you should be getting to bed."

"Alright." Zack sighed as he put his books down and got up, he then walked past his dad and into the hallway. He could hear him chuckling slightly as he walked into the hallway.

"Good night Zack." His dad called as Zack entered the bathroom. Zack then chuckled slightly.

"Good night Dad." Zack replied as he closed the bathroom door and get ready for bed.


End file.
